Sunday, November 26, 2017

Chapter 13

For this exercise we were asked to watch a few episodes of our favorite television show. After watching a couple episodes we had to write an essay about how the TV program relates to theatre, radio, motion pictures, and comic books. 
Essay:

Amy Windmiller
Visual Communication

Parks and Recreation

            Parks and Recreation is a comedy television show that is one of my favorites so I decided to re-watch a few episodes for this assignment. It is a show about government employees in the Parks and Recreation Department that all have very different and funny opinions about the government as well as their community.
            Out of the four media options given: theatre, radio, motion pictures, and comic books, Parks and Recreation is most similar to theatre. The theatre aspect of the show comes from the sets. There are only a couple sets that we see in the show, and they never really change. The show has a documentary side of it where the characters talk to the camera like they are being interviewed. The show is different from theatre as well because it isn’t performed live in front of an audience. The clothes each character wears are unique to that character and stay pretty consistent throughout the show. I think the costume aspect of theatre and the show Parks and Recreation are similar because there are always personalized costumes for each character.
            Radio is a form of media that has very few similarities to the show Parks and Recreation. Radio is a way to broadcast information and music, and most of the time you don’t see the radio announcers face. The only similarity I could make with radio and the TV show is when the characters on Parks and Recreation talk to the camera like they are being asked a question. This could be similar to interviews on the radio. As the viewer while watching the characters of Parks and Recreation look and talk to the camera it gives the show an interview/documentary style.
            Motion pictures and Parks and Recreation are not alike at all. Motion pictures have storylines and are about two or three hours long. Parks and Recreation doesn’t have an overall story line to the whole show and the episodes are about twenty minutes long. However, each episode has its own plot, but you can still miss a few episodes and understand what is going on. There are relationships on the show that continue on consistently in each episode but the main plot of each episode are about different problems or issues within the Parks and Recreation Department.
            Comic books and Parks and Recreation are similar in which they have individual storylines to each different comic or episode. Usually when reading comics, they are short stories that are easy to understand and don’t leave you questioning what will happen in the next comic. That is how Parks and Recreation works, each episode is different and the only consistent thing throughout each episode are the relationships between certain characters. Just like in comics you know the background of the story and who the characters are, as well as their relationships to each other.
            The show Parks and Recreation is a goofy show that has many different aspects of media within it. I think theatre and comic books are the most similar to the TV show but the show wouldn’t be as great without all the different aspects of media put together to make the show what it is.
           


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